


Deception on the Other Side

by Dorktapus42



Series: Manufactured Dreams [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: I really should write a second bit to this but I don't know...., I wrote three parts! Hey I guess I'm productive!, Inspired by The Greatest Showman (2017), Manipulative Deceit, Other, Roman gets fooled by his love for Music
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-01 05:51:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15767907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dorktapus42/pseuds/Dorktapus42
Summary: (Pst-! Listen to The other Side from The Greatest Showman while listening to this!Here: https://soundcloud.com/yongkiisolendra/the-greatest-showman-the-other-side?in=brianna-lopez-student/sets/a-million-dreams)Roman singing*Deceit singing~Both singing=





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (Pst-! Listen to The other Side from The Greatest Showman while listening to this! 
> 
> Here: https://soundcloud.com/yongkiisolendra/the-greatest-showman-the-other-side?in=brianna-lopez-student/sets/a-million-dreams)
> 
>  
> 
> Roman singing*  
> Deceit singing~  
> Both singing=

The dirt path crunched under Roman’s feet as he walked the forest road. He wished he had a horse. He would have summoned one, but a), he needed some exercise, which was great and all, and b), his calves would look fantastic after this, and that was what mattered. 

He heard the sound of footstep behind him. He stopped. He hadn’t put enemies in this part of the journey. Was it one of the others? He drew his sword just in case. A familiar voice sung some lyrics.

“Right here, right now. I put the offer out. I don’t want to chase you down, but I know you see it.~” 

He spun around on his heel in a moment, kicking up dust, surprised to see Deceit behind him in his normal form. What the heck-

“You run with me, and I can cut you free- out of the treachery and walls you keep in.~”

Oh. this was from The Greatest Showman.This was a surprise duet. Thomas must have the song stuck in his head. This wouldn’t be the first time.

“So trade that typical for something colourful, and if it’s crazy, then live a little crazy. You can play it sensible, King of Conventional, or you can risk it all you see.~”

Why was he singing? I mean- Roman loved the song, so he wouldn’t argue, but this was a little OOC for Jack the Fibber over there. 

“Don’t you wanna get away from that same old part you gotta play, ‘cause I’ve got what you need to come with me and take a ride- it’ll take you to the other side.~”

He started humming the beat absentmindedly, dismissing his sword like a snake under a spell of a charmer. There was no danger, now was there? The man before him was rather kind to pander to his love of music, if a bit creepy with his snake face.

“Cause you can do like you do, or you can do like me. Say in the cage, or you’ll finally take the key. Oh, damn, suddenly you’re free to fly- it’ll take you to the other side.~”

His part was now. He stepped closer to Deceit, who was wearing his signature smile.

“Okay, my friend. You wanna cut me in. Well I hate to tell you now it just won’t happen. So thanks, but no, I think I’m good to go. ‘Cause I quite enjoy the life you say I’m trapped in.*”  
He smiled back, shrugging and getting into the character. 

“Now I admire you, and that whole show you do. You’re on to something, really it’s something. But I live among the swells, we don’t pick up peanut shells. I’ll have to leave that up to you.*”

He made a hat appear and tipped it towards the snake. Nobody said he didn’t have style even when confronted with the Lyin’ King and surprise performances. He’d nailed that.

“Don’t you know that I’m okay with this uptown part I get to play, ‘cause I got what I need and I don’t want to take the ride- I don’t want to see the other side. So go and do like you do, ‘cause I’m to do like me. Ain’t in a cage so I don’t need to take the key. Oh, damn, can’t you see I’m doing fine- I don’t need to see the other side.*”

Dee cut in, looking like he was really offering a deal. He had to do more of this with Lies and Dolls- he was really good at this.

“Is this really like how you’d want to spend your days- whisky, misery; parties and plays.~”

“If I were mixed up with you, I’d be the talk of the town, disgraced and disowned, another one of the clowns.*”

“But you would finally live a little, finally laugh a little, just let me give you the freedom to dream a little. Wake you up, and cure your aching. Take your walls, and start them breaking. Now that’s a deal that seems worth taking. But I guess I’ll leave that up to you.~” 

He held out one gloved hand to be shaken. Roman turned away, pausing for the correct amount of time. 

“Well, it’s intriguing, but to go would cost me greatly. So what percentage of the show would I be taking?~”

“Fair enough. You’d want a piece of all the action. I’d give you seven, we could shake and make it happen.~”

Roman laughed. “I wasn’t born this morning. Eighteen would be just fine-*”

Deceit’s eye glinted as he smirked. “Why not just go ahead and ask for nickels on the dime.~”

“Fifteen.*”

“I’d do eight.~”

“Twelve.*” He narrowed his eyes.

“Maybe nine.~” Dee looked flippant.

“Ten.*”

Dee held out his hand again, eye glinting. Roman took it. They both smiled, although Deceit’s was a little too manipulative for comfort, and his yellow eye flashed ominously. There was a pause, as if to suggest turning back. Roman was too caught up in the song. 

They both sang the last few verses, hands still joined as the forest and road slowly evaporated. 

“Don’t you wanna get away to a whole new, part you get to play.=“

“-‘cause I’ve got what you need to come with me and take a ride-~” 

“It’ll take you to the other side.=”

“So if you do like I do.~”

“So if you’re to do like me.*”

“Forget the cage, cause we know how to make the key. Oh, damn, suddenly we’re free to fly, we’re going to the other side.=”

“So if you do like I do.~”

“To the other side-*”

“So if you’re to do like me.~”

“To the other side-*”

“Cause if you do-~”

“-we’re going to the other side, we’re going to the other-=”

Roman yelped as yellow glowing cables wrapped around his arms, burning into him and causing him to wince. 

“Side.~” Deceit finished with a smile. “Oh, Roman, don’t you know to read the fine print before agreeing to a contract?”

Roman paled. What had he done?


	2. Prideful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I would make a second part. It turned into two. Welp.

Roman watched as Dee shifted to look like him. He even had the outfit down… no way was he making the same mistake as last time.

“Delightful, isn’t it?~” He turned to glare at the Side. 

“I wouldn’t call it such. What are you going to do with me miscreant?” 

Dee chuckled and leaned forwards, a hand resting right under his chin. “To you? Nothing!” He couldn’t tell whether he was lying or not. 

“Liar.” Roman spat, his chin brushing against Dee’s hand where it cupped his face. The man chuckled, the sound so similar to his own resonant voice. 

“Lie? Why would I lie? I’m Prince Roman! Lying is wrong!” He even had his facial expressions down. Drat. 

“You villain.”

“Oh, you’re too kind! Goodbye…” He reached the door of his room. “...Prince Pride.~”

He left the room chuckling before he could respond. He wasn’t that jerk! He- he looked down at the orange smoke that had started to cover his feet. Shit. 

He tried to call for the others-

_ You’re too good for them.  _

No-

_ Oh, shut up! You know it’s true! Why are you lying to yourself when you are worth so much more? _

Please-

The smoke had risen to his waist. 

_ Stop holding yourself back Roman! You’re worth so much more! Those clowns are nothing compared to the King! You’re not some humble prince- you rule your lands with an iron fist! Who wouldn’t follow you, fearless leader? _

He was pretty great, wasn’t he- no, no! He was better than this- he had flaws! He-

_ How could someone like you have flaws? Imperfections are beneath you! Besides, name one! You don’t have any of worth- not like those ‘friends’ of yours! Cowardly Virgil, Naive Patton, and Rude Logan! Those idiots are beneath you! _

He- he was right! Why did he even let himself be seen with such vermin? He was a King for crying out loud! Especially Virgil, he was so weak! Patton was so clueless! Logan was disagreeable and grating! They were unfit company!

_ Yes, yes- you have the right idea, don’t you Pride? Why did he let himself be seen with them indeed! Someone as important as you should only be seen with royalty! _

Royalty… He was royalty, wasn’t he?

The smoke hung around his head, and he was entranced by the comforting smell of oranges and mint.

_ Yes! You were born to lead, Roman! Don’t let these foolish people hold you back! _

Yes- yes. Those foolish enough to stand against him would meet his sword!

_ Yes! Stand in your true glory! _

The smoke cleared away, condensing into a floating yellow crown above his head. His clothes had changed- orange and black- proper clothes for a royal. None of this ridiculous yellow, red,  and white for someone so mysterious and cunning!

The yellow cables dropped to the ground and he haughtily looked around the space. Simple. Bland. Small. Grey.

He stormed out of the room and down the hall to his room, the red handle’s paint flaking away to a tarnished gold as he grabbed it and opened the door. Ah- home sweet home. 

He stalked up the white marble stairs of the pavilion, rose petals falling around him from nowhere. He looked around the gold dome above to seas of galaxies and stars- all his. All of it- everything- was rightfully his. 

Everything. 

He flopped down on the luxurious loveseat and snapped, a plate of cookies appearing. He deserved cookies. Besides, these were his favourite. 

He took a bite of the creamy chocolate chip and almost spat it out. It tasted like sawdust-! Pitiful. He clapped his hands and a platter of cheeses and grapes appeared. These were more his style anyway… sawdust cookies! He’d have to go snap at the cooks for those. Ridiculous. 

The heard the sound of footsteps outside his door. The door slammed and Deceit ran up in Creativity’s guise, stopping when he saw Roman lounging on his chair with a raised brow. 

“Pride?”

“Yes? What does an esteemed person such as yourself need from his King?”

Deceit smiled, a wicked look. Roman sat up, the chair shifting to a golden gilded throne. “Yes? Speak!”

“Everything’s horrible. Absolutely horrible! You must not be revealed!”

Roman raised another brow. “Oh? Why should I speak to such filth?” He said it so plainly it almost seemed natural- he was the highest and greatest

“Because you will not get admiration? Glory? Power?” Deceit was almost giddy, the aura of his room elevating his pride and making him haughty. “We-”

“We? How are the two of us connected substantially in any way?” His voice was freezing cold, causing Deceit to drop to reality quickly and suddenly, if the pause was any indication. The snake slowly spun on his heel. 

“My King-” A thin smile spread across the puppeteer’s face, looking thin and see-through in the light of the millions of lanterns. 

“Quiet. You and I both know you don’t mean the apology. Now get out of my sight.” The man scurried out of the room, knowing of his fiery temper. Roman leaned back in his throne with a scoff. Pathetic. He was surrounded by idiots. 

There was a light knock on the door. “Kiddo? Can you hear me?”

“Enter and kneel.” Patton was halfway through the door when he realized what Roman had said. Then he saw the drastic changes to the room. He really should have noticed the handle. 

“Pride?” Patton’s voice was small and weak. You could almost see the man’s arms shaking. 

“Obviously. Patton, honey, I thought you had more sense. I do suppose I must have some slack to carry to be this awesome however.”

Patton gulped. “K-Kiddo-”

“Leave. You exhaust me. Send in Logan. He is the one with the most sense among you three, even if he is a bit brash and mean-spirited.”

“He is not mean-spirited!’ The man’s voice failed as Roman sent him a steely glare. 

“Don’t tell me the room has made you nonsensical as well. Leave.”

Patton left with tear tracks on his face and a crack in his heart. Pride felt nothing. 

A few minutes later Virgil stormed in before faltering at the sight of the man. “Wha- Pride? What are you- where’s Roman?!”

He simply waved a hand. “Hello.~ Miss me?”

Virgil marched up and stared at him, the elevation of the throne making them eye-level. “Where. Is. Roman. Tell me now.” Pride just sat there, nonchalant. 

“Are you an idiot as well as a coward? I already answered your question Brad Pitiful.” 

Virgil stumbled back a few steps. “You- What the hell did you say to Patton?! He was crying-”

“Oh, boo hoo. Poor Moral Compass without a clue what’s happening. Face it Mr. Contemptible- I’m your King now. That foolish prince is finished.” And Virgil believed him. His fists trembled as he stared Pride down.

“You are a monster. No one like you could ever be a king.” And with that thought he left, slamming the door behind him. 

Pride shifted in his seat. A monster? Him? That was ridiculous. 

Right?

He looked at his sleeve as white started to creep up. No. No. He wasn’t a monster. 

_ He was a king. _

He stalked out of the room, not noticing the orange tendrils of smoke that smelled of orange and mint creeping around his head and drawing him back into the abyss. 

He walked through the commons, almost not noticing the faintly weeping Patton in the corner, with Virgil comforting him and Logan looking on with worry. He sneered. 

“What, padre not feeling up to his sunshiny self?”

Logan turned around slowly, and when he did speak, the chill in his voice rivaled Pride’s. “You did this, didn’t you?”

“And I thought you were intelligent.”

Logan took a step closer, and something in Pride wanted to step back at the fire in the man’s eyes. “Well ‘Pride’, you seem to have forgotten an important flaw in your quest for tyranny.”

“Oh? Please do tell Macbook Airhead.”

Logan smiled. “I am not apathetic.” He snapped his fingers and Pride found himself on the floor, simply unable to move. It was like he didn’t care. He was just too comfortable……

Ah. Apathy had struck. Pride found himself chuckling. 

Logan stood above him, brow creased. “I cannot fathom why you would be chuckling at this moment. You have no power. No plan.”

Pride smirked as he transported the two of them to his room. “And doesn’t that scare you to death.” 

“Doctor Who references? Maybe you aren’t so bad.”

Pride smirked, feeling himself fill with power. “Aww, thanks. I appreciate the sentiment.Are you going to continue and do nothing?” Logan’s eyes filled with fire. 

“Never.” He snapped his fingers again. “Night-night.” Pride’s eyes widened as he felt the familiar presence of sand in his eyes. 

“No- Sleep! Stop him!” The man came out from the shadow of a column, sipping some coffee. 

“Sorry hon, but you were much better as Creativity. Tyranny doesn’t suit you gurl.”

Sleep lowered his sunglasses and winked-

And Pride fell into a deep sleep, hearing nothing but a soft chuckle as he hit the ground. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a great day!~ Thank you for reading!


	3. Sleepytime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YEET!

Roman woke up on a familiar-looking pavilion with a start. He looked down and saw a smoking orange crown at his feet. He scrambled back, stomping on it like a bug, causing it to crack and dissolve into orange mist. 

He looked up, watching the scenery melt together until it looked like his room one more. “What the-”

“Hey hon.” Sleep leaned against the vanity drinking some tea. Roman rubbed his eyes, slightly surprised when he found faint grains of sand in his hand. 

“You put me to sleep? All I remember is…” He trailed off as the gaps in his memory filled. “Oh.” 

Remy stood up. “Oh indeed gurl. Ya really should apologize. Anyway, not that you’re awake I’m gonna jet. See ya around for a dream or two sometime hon.” 

“See ya Sandman.” 

Remy saluted and disappeared. Before he could do anything else the door creaked open, and Deceit stood in the doorway. Roman stiffened as he smelled orange and mint. His lip curled. 

“Leave, Jack-the-Fibber. And never return unless you want to face my wrath.” Deceit smiled vaguely and disappeared. 

He heard the sound of footsteps and he saw Virgil in the doorway. 

“Creativity?”

“Aw, back to using titles again? I thought we were past this.” He put a mosk offended hand on his chest. 

“After you made Patton cry? I don’t think so. Apologize.” Roman remembered, and a hand came up to his face. 

“I did that?”

“Well Logan certainly didn’t. I thought you had brains Princey.” Virgil scoffed, then faltered at the sight of watering eyes. “Princey-” But Roman had already ran out of the room. 

He ran around the corner and stopped as he saw Patton and Logan talking on the couch. Logan was running a hand through the crying Side’s hair. “It’s okay Pat. You know he didn’t mean it- that was Pride talking and nothing more.”

“I- I know, but-” He sniffed, the wet sound making Roman’s heart ache. What kind of a prince was he to let his friends get so hurt because of him? 

“Patton-” Roman faltered as Logan looked over with a glare. The look was clear. You are not wanted. Roman stumbled back a few steps and ran away, trying to keep the tears off of his face and failing. 

He had no idea where he was running, only that he had to get away from the people he’d hurt. He’d run into the are of the hallway that led into the subconscious- and he found a figure chilling upside down on a bunch of stairs like an M.C. Escher painting. “Hey hon. Things not work out so well?” It was Sleep. 

“No- I- I messed everything up Rem. I-” He ran his hands through his hair, starting to pace. “I wanted to apologize, but the way he looked at me- I’m a coward. A total coward.” 

Sleep just sipped his drink. “Okay then. What can you do? You know you’ve messed some shit up, but what can you do to fix it?”

Frustrated tears ran down his face as he fell to the ground. “I don’t know!” He felt a heavy blanket fall over him. 

“Hon- you’ve been running yourself ragged with worry. Take a break-”

“I can’t take a break! You think I haven’t noticed how I haven’t been helping Thomas like I should? I have to help him so he can- everyone’s relying on him- I-”

“Shhhhhhhhhhhh….. Shut it Pinkie Pie. You can’t help anyone like this. Just sleep. I’ll try to sort things out, but you can’t work your best like this gurl.”

“I just took a nap when I- I can’t-” He tried to fight off the gritty feeling in his eyes as Remy stood above him.

“Hon, you only slept for fifteen minutes. You need some actual sleep. Take a chill pill. You need it.” 

He could only yawn in response as his eyes closed. “You really should go do this to Virgil. He needs it.” 

“On my to-do list hon. Just sleep….” 

And his world was dark one more. 

 

\-------

Remy stretched and drank his coffee. Ugh now he had to go actually do stuff. He took another sip of his drink and got up with a sigh. 

He walked down the hall, seeing the craziness of the subconscious meld smoothly into the conscious mind. 

“Yo.” He walked into the common room and touched Patton’s forehead, making him fall asleep instantly. Logan puffed up from where he had Patton’s head in his lap. 

“What do you think-”

“He needs sleep. He’s tired hon. And you-” He reached forwards.

“Don’t you dare-” And Logan was out like a light. He looked around for Virgil and found him in his room. He knocked. 

“Yo.” Virgil looked over. 

“Hey. Gonna make me go through hell again?” His brows furrowed. 

“Dreams? You shouldn’t have-”

“I’m Anxiety. Dreams are kinda my thing.” He sipped his drink. 

“Ah. So nightmares. I might be able to help with that.” He un-conjured his drink and grabbed his satchel out of mid-air, rifling through it. He pulled out a vial full of glowing yellow sand. He tossed it at Virgil, the vial turning into a cup of tea as it hit his hands. “Try this hon. Get some sleep. You shouldn’t need to use the eyeshadow.” 

“Aww, you do care.” He chugged down the tea and immediately passed out, falling onto his carpet. Remy rolled his eyes and grabbed him, putting him on his bed. He ought to go to Patton’s room and make some more dreams later if it worked for Virgil. 

Well that was tiring. He probably should go wake up Patton and explain everything. 

He walked back into the common room, moving Logan enough to pick up the Moral Side. He really was light compared to all of his dreams in his bag. Patton shifted, muttering something. 

“No…. wait-” Well he’d have to wake him up. Sigh. He gently placed Patton on the floor and touched his forehead. This was a lot harder than making them fall asleep. 

“Wake up hon.” He said, prodding him back into reality. 

“Sleep? What-”

“You were just dreaming hon. I’ll give you something if you want to sleep afterwards, but we need to have a chat.”

“A chat- why? Is this about-”

“Prince Pinkie Pie wanted me to talk to you while he was sleeping. He wanted to apologize hon- oh don’t you start crying again.” Patton was sniffling, tears welling up. 

“Well why didn’t he tell me himself?!” He sniffed again. Remy thought and manifested him a cookie. 

“He wanted to but wasn’t sure you’d accept. He and Virgil are rather similar sometimes hon. Do you want to go back to sleep? I can try to give you a good dream.”

Patton gave a watery smile. “If you want kiddo. I wouldn’t mind.” 

Remy smiled and dug through his bag. He really needed to resupply- ah. He pulled out a light purple with grains of brown. “How about puppies? I know you like those gurl. What’s not to love?” 

Patton smiled and grabbed it, it turning into a warm glass of milk. “Thanks Sleep.”

“Call me Remy hon.” Patton soon fell asleep with a small smile on his face.   
He should go tell Roman….. Eh, too much work. He synced up to the real world. 

“Hey Thomas, hon, gurl, you look like you could use some-”

“Sleep? Why- what- you’re a Side?” 

Remy rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses as he rummaged through his bag. “You had to get the idea from somewhere, didn’t you? Now- beach or school?”

“Uh- what?”

Remy rolled his eyes. “Your dream, dummy. Do you want to go to the beach or school? While the beach is fun, school can commonly result in a nightmare. I’d do the beach if I were you hon.”

Thomas flailed a bit. “Uh- beach? I have some work to do though-”

Remy stared at him before sighing. “Do you have time for a nap?”

“Uh- maybe? Why isn’t Logan telling me to set my alarm?” 

“He’s asleep. Probably dreaming about slide rules or something nerdy. Set it if ya want, but honestly, I wouldn’t bother I’ll probably wake you up.” 

“That’s quite the vote of confidence. Why isn’t Virgil telling me I have work to do?”

“Asleep. Hon, I thought you would have caught on by now.”

There was a knock at the door. Remy sighed, crossing his arms and returning the dream to his bag. “Fine. I’ll probably came by later.” Unless he had any parties to go to.

“Probably? You’re sure sounding like-”

He snapped his fingers. “Ah! Someone else to put to sleep! Thanks Thomathy!”

“That’s not my name!”

“Whatever.” He sunk back down to go hunt for the snake. “Yo! Deceit!”

Deceit popped up. “You do not need any nightmares?” He touched the snake on the forehead.

“Nope.” The Side fell to the ground with a snore. He rolled his eyes and dragged him over to a grey door. “Go into your room Snake.” He opened it and dragged him inside, eying the yellow ropes on the ground. Those wouldn’t be bad for refilling his stores- the nightmares had gotten raided recently-

His stomach dropped as he realized what had happened. “Deceit, Deceit, Deceit! You slippery son of a gun! I bet my vials are still here somewhere, aren’t they?” He looked around. Nothing but some empty glasses in the trash. Sigh. He needed to give Deceit one or two so he learned a lesson. 

He grabbed one of the glasses and eyed it for some of the powder that should remain. Even if he had used it- ah. He swiped his finger down at the bottom of the glass and saw a few grains cling to his finger. Black. That wasn’t a good dream. He touched it to his tongue and an image flew past his mind’s eye. He shuddered. 

Why had he even made that in the first place? He must have been crazy. Unless it was one of the naturally forming ones? He grabbed some of the glasses and poofed off to his room. 

He cleared a worktable and set down the glasses before moving over to one of the towering shelves full of vials. He reached down and grabbed one of the black ones. He hoped he had been wrong- he noticed a few empty spaces that weren’t from him. That bastard. He screwed open the vial and poured it into a beaker. He wanted to… customize it a little. What was this one anyway? He checked the label. Oh. He grabbed one of the lighter ones and poured a little in. The rest could be a daydream. He moved it to another shelf for another day and turned back to the beaker. That one had been really bad- why was that in here anyway? 

He thought. So. Loneliness mixed with friends= abandonment by those he called friends. That was a good start. He browsed some of his other leftovers. What was Deceit scared of? 

A vial came into existence with a small pop, the small container of deep red sand mixed with black and yellow almost falling off the table before he caught it. He eyed the label in indifference before his face grew into a smile. Perfect. 

He threw some into the beaker and mixed it. He probably should test-

He jolted awake on the floor in a cold sweat. Oh, that would work. That would definitely work. Maybe he should- 

No. He helped make Patton cry. Speaking of which, was Roman awake? 

He quickly poured the concoction into a vial and slipped it into his pocket before moving outside the door and listening. He heard the faint sound of Roman singing Disney songs. Everything must be alright if he was singing Disney songs. 

He had a present to deliver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. I suppose I should end this short-series thing. I really need to write Remy more- I ended up having a lot of ideas with him while writing this. I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it- it was just screaming the two of them to me and I had to do it. I posted it on tumblr too, so I figured I'd put it here! Anyway, have a great day, and thanks!
> 
> (I'm on tumblr by the same username- https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dorktapus42 if you want to say hi or look at my limited art stuff on there!)


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